“My income is very important to my whole family, as I am the only wage earner,” says Njah Primus Songekwe. “I pay school fees for my sister and niece, and I am even able to save money.” The small African village of Bamessing in northwest Cameroon is home to 26-year-old Njah, who learned to make pottery from his mother. She was one of the first potters to join Prescraft when it was founded over 40 years ago.
Since its beginning, Prescraft has enabled hundreds of disadvantaged handicraft producers to sell their products within the Fair Trade market and become self-reliant. As a project of the Presbyterian Church, Prescrafts’ goals are to provide employment for rural artisans, stem migration from the rural areas to the cities, preserve traditional craft skills and cultural heritage, and to instill self-confidence in artisans.
Benefits Prescraft provides include:
- An apprenticeship program for disadvantaged youth to learn from skilled artisans
- Access to a fund to cover the cost of education, healthcare, and housing
- Advances to purchase raw materials for their handcrafts
